Laundry Night
by Shannon Michelle
Summary: [COMPLETE] What if Paris never came over in "There's the Rub" and Rory and Jess had the house to themselves? R/J
1. Everybody Wang Chung Tonight

Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I don't. Don't sue me please. It wouldn't do you any good. I own a gel pen and a box of poptarts. And the poptarts are stale.

Rating: PG-13. I'm not sure if it actually qualifies as PG-13 (it's more PG) but I'm just gonna be safe here.

A/N: Okay, when I watched "There's the Rub" I couldn't help thinking what could've happened between Jess and Rory if Paris wasn't there. Now, it's not that I don't like Paris, quite the contrary, she's one of my favorite characters, and I really liked her interaction with Jess. *But* I found myself screaming, "GO HOME!" at my television set when she decided to stay for dinner.

For those of you who haven't seen "There's the Rub," first of all, I pity you. It's a great episode. Download it somewhere. And secondly, here's a teeny summary so you know what's going on:

There is construction going on upstairs in the diner to make Luke and Jess's living space larger, and as a result, there's pretty much chaos there. Lorelai's mom wins free passes to a spa for the weekend, and offers them to Lorelai, at which point Lorelai accidentally makes her want to come too. So they're at the spa together, leaving Rory alone for the weekend. Dean wants to spend time with her, but she has already decided that she wants to hang out and do her laundry just the way she wants it, and just be by herself since she never gets the house to herself.

Okay, now on with the fic :)

Rory was in heaven. Sitting in the middle of her living room surrounded by piles of laundry, her "Cheesiest songs of the 80s" CD blaring, she sighed happily. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty as she thought of her mother suffering through a weekend with her grandma, but it was a fleeting thought. She had already separated her colors into their various shades of darkness, and had started the first load in the washing machine. Now it was on T-shirts. She hummed along to Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" as she worked.

Just then the doorbell rang. Rory froze. She knew it couldn't be Sandeep's. She had just ordered her food from them, and they told her it would be forty minutes, which of course actually meant at least an hour, but that was besides the point. Either way it wasn't Sandeep's. She looked down at her puppy dog pajamas and ran her fingers through her mussed hair before getting up and cautiously approaching the door. She turned the handle and opened it to reveal…

"Jess?"

"Delivery!" Jess said loudly, barging his way into the house.

"What are you doing here?" Rory asked, following him into her kitchen.

"Well, Luke figured since you're alone tonight that maybe you wouldn't have any food in the house, so he sent over a care package," he answered, dropping a large box of food on her kitchen table.

"I don't need a care package. I just ordered from Sandeep's."

"Really? Planning on burning down the house afterwards?"

"Jess."

"The only way to kill the smell."

"Jess, you have to go. Thank Luke for the food, but I don't need it tonight."

Rory picked up the box of food and went to hand it back to Jess but he put up his hands and backed away.

"Hey, what's going on here? Did you really just refuse to accept free food? Yet another sign of the oncoming apocalypse."

"You know I think you're right. Just this morning I saw the four horses of the apocalypse trotting through Taylor's flowerbed. Boy is he gonna be mad. Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you go over to his house so you can see his reaction. And take the food with you."

Jess ignored her.

"Oh my God, is Wang Chung playing?"

Rory felt her cheeks getting hot. Why hadn't she turned the music off before she answered the door? She mentally kicked herself.

"It's an 80s anthology."

"Oh yeah, this is definitely a classic."

"It's nice to know that you can appreciate Wang Chung's sophisticated musical talent, but I really think you should go now."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why are you so eager to get rid of me?" Jess asked curiously.

Rory blushed again.

"Well first of all, I'm in my pajamas."

"Hmm, puppies," Jess commented, letting his eyes run over her. Rory squirmed uncomfortably. "Well, it's not exactly formal wear, but—"

"And secondly," Rory said, raising her voice over his. "This is supposed to be my chill out night. I'm just doing my laundry and relaxing."

"And listening to bad 80s music."

"Yes."

Jess nodded. "Well okay, then I insist on a tip."

"What?"

Jess smirked and sat down at the kitchen table.

"I came all the way out here to do something nice, and you just send me away without so much as a tip? Tsk tsk, Rory."

Rory rolled her eyes and snorted. "You want money?"

"There are other ways that you could show your gratitude," Jess replied, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"Out." Rory said, glaring at him.

"Hey, I was just kidding. How about if I hang out here and help you do your laundry."

"What?"

"I promise I'll be a good little boy. Besides, I'm good at laundry."

"How would this be like a tip for you? You like doing laundry?"

"Well, I don't think I can stand being in that diner much longer. I'm dodging chunks of ceiling left and right. I might have permanent head trauma."

"That would explain a lot," Rory said matter-of-factly.

"Ouch. Now I don't think I deserved that. Here I am being a nice guy offering to help you do your chores, and I get insulted."

"My heart goes out to you."

"Hey, I'm really good at doing laundry. When you have an alcoholic, schizo mother you sort of have to learn early how to do these types of things."

Rory looked closely at Jess. He was leaning back in the chair nonchalantly, arm dangling at his side, feet spread wide out in front of him. He was the picture of apathy. But when she looked into his eyes, she saw a pleading look. He really didn't want to go home. Rory convinced herself that it was because of the construction and not because of her. She sighed loudly.

"Fine. You can help, but I have a very specific way I like things done. Right now I'm sorting T-shirts."

"You have a specific way of sorting T-shirts?" Jess asked skeptically.

"Three piles; one for white T-shirts, one for colored T-shirts, and one for T-shirts with some kind of writing on them."

"Ooookay then."

"Hey, if you're going to mock me then you can leave," Rory said, arms crossed.

"I'm hurt that you would accuse me of mockery," Jess said, feigning outrage. "There's nothing wrong with your laundry sorting method. In fact, my friend Anal McNutty does his laundry the exact same way."

"Have fun dodging debris," Rory said, pointing to the door.

"Hey come on, I was kidding," Jess said, flashing her an innocent smile.

Rory rolled her eyes, but found herself smiling too.

"Okay then, come on, let's finish sorting my T-shirts."

"And let all this food go to waste?" Jess said, gesturing to the giant box of Luke's food. "The laundry can wait. Let's start on the food."

"I told you I already have food coming."

"Well, you can eat both."

Rory gave him a doubtful look.

"What? I've seen you eat Rory. You could polish off this entire box of Luke's stuff and still have enough room for your Indian food."

"Well, fine. But I really want to finish sorting the T-shirts first."

"Rory, you know as well as I do that if we wait much longer we'll be having reheated french fries. Nobody wants that."

Rory made a face. "Ew. Reheated french fries."

"Exactly. But I'll tell you what. We can bring this stuff into the living room and sort while we eat."

Rory sighed and threw her arms up in the air.

  
"Fine, bring the box over. I'm going to get changed."

"But the puppies are so classy!"

Rory glared at Jess, but she couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face as she went into her room.

Rory and Jess moved to the living room and sat on the floor next to each other. After distributing the food in Luke's box, they started the sorting.

"Okay, this T-shirt is white, but it also has writing on it. Which pile?"

"Any T-shirt with writing on it goes into the 'T-shirt with writing on it' pile."

"Wait, so you separate the light and dark T-shirts, but just put all written-on T-shirts together regardless of their shade?"

Rory frowned. "Yes? What's wrong with that?"

"Well, I just think that if you're going to be anal about your laundry you should be consistently anal."

"What are you saying?"

"I propose four T-shirt piles. The whites, the colored, the colored with writing, and the whites with writing."

Rory looked deeply contemplative. "The more piles we make, the longer it's going to take to get it all done."

"Hey, I've got all night," Jess said with a smile.

Rory smiled back. "Okay, have it your way, four T-shirt piles."

They sorted for a moment in silence. Then Jess reached across Rory to grab a shirt that caught his eye. Rory inhaled sharply as he suddenly got close to her. She felt his arm brush against her chest. 

  
Jess, hearing her gasp, turned to face her. Their faces were too close. Rory couldn't help focusing on his lips. She was screaming at herself to look away, but they were so close, she couldn't stop. Jess smiled, and pulled away again, shirt in hand.

"How come you never wear this one at the diner?" he asked, holding the shirt up for her to see. It was a black T-shirt with "Porn Star" written across it in rhinestones.

"Oh my God, that's my mom's! It must have just gotten mixed into my stuff somehow." 

Jess smirked at her flushed face and teased her.

"Sure Rory, it's your mom's. Can't fool me. I now know your secret side job."

Rory rolled her eyes, but her blush increased. "Oh no, you caught me. Perhaps you've seen my latest appearance in 'Private School Girls Gone Wild.'"

Jess's smile grew wider. "No actually I haven't. I'll have to pick that one up the next time I visit the video store."

Rory shook her head. "Okay, we're done with T-shirts. I'm going to go change over the load of wash. You can go get the next bunch. I have a few laundry baskets in my room. We can sort pants next."

Rory left the room with her T-shirts. When she returned Jess was sitting on the floor with a basket in his lap, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"What's your problem?" she asked cautiously. As she got closer she realized that Jess had not picked up the basket with her jeans and slacks.

"I thought these would be more fun to sort," he said, grinning.

Rory's eyes widened. In the basket was all of her underwear. Not only her cotton undies and bras, but also a few things that she had picked up at Victoria's Secret, and even some of her underwear with little monkies on them. She nearly died.

"Jess!" she shrieked. "Put that stuff back!"

"What?" Jess asked innocently. "I'm here to help!"

Rory snatched the basket from him and started to run back to her room.

"You forgot this!" Jess shouted after her. She turned to see him holding up one of her bras, and rushed back to snatch it from him. 

As she started back towards her room, Jess shouted, "No really, I think the monkeys are adorable!"

Rory grabbed the correct basket and walked back to the living room, face red, glaring at Jess.

Sensing her level of embarrassment, Jess suddenly regretted what he'd done.

"Hey, Rory I'm sorry. I was just kidding. I'll be good."

Rory's glare softened, and she sighed in annoyance.

"Fine. You can help me go through the pockets quickly to make sure I didn't leave anything in them."

"Had any bad past experiences with leaving things in your pockets?"

"Well, there was the famous Chapstick Incident of 1995."

"Ooh, sounds gruesome."

"It was," Rory said, shuddering at the memory.

"Hey, five bucks!" Jess said, pulling the bill out of one of her jeans pockets. He began to pocket it himself.

"Thief! Give it back!"

"Finders keepers," Jess replied, sticking out his tongue.

Rory gave him a pouty face.

"Ooh, pouty face. Can't… resist… the thrall," he said dramatically stretching the bill out towards her before she snatched it back.

"You are so mean," he said resentfully.

"I'm a regular Joseph Stalin."

"On occasion I've heard you let your Russian accent come out. It was a total giveaway."

"And I try to be low key with the mass genocide and everything. Damn that accent."

"Hey what's this?" Jess asked, directing her attention to the folded piece of paper he found in the pocket of her khakis.

"Nothing, give it to me," Rory answered urgently.

"If it's nothing then why are you getting so eager to take it from me?"

"Just give it back Jess."

"Just tell me what it is Rory," Jess said, mimicking Rory's tone of voice.

Rory tried to grab the paper from Jess, but he jumped up onto the couch.

"I'll guess I'll just have to open it and see for myself," he said, unfolding it. After scanning it for a second he smirked. "Oh how cute, a love note from the bagboy!"

"Jess," Rory clenching her jaw. "Just give it back."

"No wait, this is just asking to be mocked. 'Dear Rory, I couldn't stop thinking about you at work last night.' Oh that's sweet. Looking at cans of beans got him thinking about you."

Rory got up and sat on the couch. She grabbed the hand Jess wasn't using to hold the note and tugged hard, pulling him down into a reclined position on the couch. But even that didn't stop Jess. He kept on reading.

"Oh come on Rory, it's a beautiful expression of love! I especially like the part where he spelled 'definitely' wrong. Apparently he 'defiantly' loves you with all his heart. Oh that part probably made you swoon."

"Jess, stop it!" Rory yelled, reaching up to take the note. She grabbed onto it, but Jess wouldn't let go of it. She was straddling his waist as she struggled with him, but she was too angry to realize it.

Jess, on the other hand, was very aware of Rory's position, and he stopped struggling almost immediately. Rory pulled the note out of his hand, but Jess then grabbed her free hand and pulled her closer. Now Rory realized that she was sprawled out on top of Jess. He was still holding onto her hand, making slow circles on her palm with his thumb. His breathing had increased and he was looking intently into her eyes. He brought his face closer to hers and Rory held her breath. She leaned in as well until she felt his breath on her lips. She closed her eyes and moved to close the rest of the space between them. 

Suddenly the phone rang. Rory and Jess froze. After a second Rory jumped back and off of the couch, eyes wide.

"Rory," Jess said, wishing that she would come back to the couch.

"Phone," Rory said dumbly, refusing to look at him. She ran over and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Dean answered happily.

Rory felt her heart sink. She felt horrible about what she almost did to Dean.

"Oh, hey," she said, hoping to sound nonchalant. "Where are you?"

"On my way to see you—if that's okay?"

"Oh, well—"

"I know you wanna be alone, so I'll only stay a minute. I just wanna say hi."

"We just said hi," Rory said nervously, glancing at Jess who was listening closely to her end of the conversation.

"Well, I wanna say hi a little closer," Dean persisted.

"But, I'm a mess, really. It's not pretty. You won't recognize me."

"Well, then put a name tag on, 'cause I miss you."

"I miss you too but—"

"But what?" Dean said impatiently.

Rory searched for some excuse but couldn't come up with anything. She stayed silent.

"I'll see you in a sec," he said, hanging up.

Rory hung up her phone as well and turned to look at Jess, who was still sprawled out on her couch, staring at her.

"You have to go," Rory said, panic creeping into her voice.

Jess just smirked, and Rory felt her panic increasing. He wasn't going to make this easy. She ran to her window and looked outside. Dean was less than a block away. 

TBC… I promise that what happens next will be different from what happened in the actual episode. Remember, Paris isn't there to cover for Rory. Please click that nifty little button and review. And when you review, let me know if you have any ideas. I'm open to suggestions.


	2. Can’t go wrong with monkeys

First I want to thank everybody for the reviews! I got way more than I expected! As for your suggestions, they were all so different that I actually wrote three different versions of this chapter before I finally decided to go with this one, so I hope you like it. I hope Jess seems in character, because there's one part that is sort of 'out there' for him, but meh. It was cute so I had to do it. That is what this story is all about. Cuteness! Weeeee!

On with the fic…

"You have to go," Rory said, panic creeping into her voice.

Jess just smirked, and Rory felt her panic increasing. He wasn't going to make this easy. She ran to her window and looked outside. Dean was less than a block away. 

"I mean it. You have to leave. Now."

Jess sighed and snuggled deeper into the couch cushions.

"Who was on the phone?"

Rory sighed angrily.

"You know who it was, and you have to leave. You can go out the side door."

"Oh wait, my favorite song just came on!" Jess said, feigning interest.

"'Mony Mony' is not your favorite song."

"How do you know I don't harbor a deep adoration for Billy Idol?"

"Maybe you do. So go to him, build happy lives together. I'm sure he loves you too," Rory said distractedly, wringing her hands. 

Jess watched her anxiety grow, and spoke up.

"Don't worry about it Rory. I mean, he 'defiantly' loves you, right? I'm sure he won't mind that I'm here."

"Jess—"

"I don't see what the problem is. I was just helping you with your chores."

"Yeah, but when Dean asked if he could help me, I told him no," she said, walking over to him.

"Really? Why was that?" Jess said, a bit more interested now. 

"Because I wanted to have the house to myself for once," Rory said, grabbing Jess's hands and starting to pull him up off the couch.

Jess allowed Rory to pull him up and he stood, still gripping her hands.

"So why did you let me help?"

"Well you just… I don't know you were—"

"Irresistible?" Jess said, sitting back down on the couch and pulling Rory into his lap. "I'm very persuasive, aren't I?" he said, mouth close to her ear.

Rory squirmed in his lap and jumped off of him, ignoring the chills that ran down her spine.

"Jess, quit fooling around. You have to go. Please, I'm asking you as a friend, just leave."

Her voice had risen to a high, shaky tone and her eyes were serious. She looked frustrated enough to cry if he didn't cooperate soon. Jess sighed again and got up. He hated Dean for doing this to her. For making her this afraid. He went to the door, grabbed his shoes, and started to slip them on.

"Oh God!" Rory said suddenly.

"What?" Jess asked.

"The food," Rory answered, gesturing towards the boxes of food strewn about the living room. "He'll know someone was here. Help me hide it."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Rory, this is insane."

"Just help me, please," Rory said, scooping up some of the boxes and carrying them into the kitchen.

Jess sighed. He looked after her in frustration and followed her, bringing the remainder of the food with him. He saw Rory shoving the boxes into the refrigerator and did the same. Rory breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," she said, looking up at him with a small smile. "Um… he'll be here any second so…"

Jess held up his hand, "I'm gone. Just let me get my coat."

He walked back to the living room where his coat was hung over the edge of the couch.

"Hello? Anybody home?" a voice called from the front door.

Rory whipped around to look at the door and inhaled sharply.

"He's here. Just hide somewhere," she said in a hushed voice.

"What?" Jess said in disbelief.

"Shhh, just go and hide. Please, if he finds you here it's just going to complicate things so much."

Jess looked at Rory and let out a disgusted sigh. 

"Fine."

Rory watched him duck behind the couch and cover himself with some random pieces of laundry. She took a deep breath and walked over to the door where Dean was poking his head in.

"Dean," Rory said, forcing herself to smile.

"Hey," he asked, stepping inside. "Why are you out of breath?" 

"Oh… I was changing," she lied.

Dean shook his head. "I told you not to worry about it. Were you wearing the puppy dog pajamas?"

Rory smiled. "I was in fact."

"Ah, my personal favorites, although the frogs are a close second."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, smile growing.

Dean smiled down at her and pulled her in for a quick kiss. For a moment she closed her eyes and tried to forget that Jess was in the next room, but a second later Dean had pulled away and was walking in to the living room. Rory's eyes widened.

"Dean!"

"What?" he asked, turning around to give her a quizzical look.

"Um… it's so messy in there. Let's talk in the kitchen."

"I don't care about the mess."

"I know but—"

"Besides, I brought ice cream and I thought we could veg on the couch for a little bit."

Rory's eyes flitted to the couch and she said Jess poke his head out, glaring at her. Dean was oblivious to the exchange.

  
"Dean, I'd really rather go in the kitchen."

Dean laughed. "Rory, I swear I don't care about the mess." 

He sat down on the couch and Rory reluctantly followed him. He smiled at her and gently put his hand on her neck, bringing her in for another kiss. Rory froze. She pulled away.

"Rory, what's wrong with you?" Dean asked, confused.

"Nothing, I just…" she looked at Dean and realized that soon he was going to start suspecting something.

"It's nothing, never mind. I thought I heard the washing machine beep." 

She laughed nervously and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned in and gave him a deep kiss, and he responded by tangling his fingers in her hair and kissing her back with equal passion. 

Jess closed his eyes and tried to imagine being anywhere else. He was going to be sick if he didn't run out of that house in the next three seconds. He could hear them doing… whatever the hell they were doing. 

Rory pulled away from Dean.

"Wait, did you say something about ice cream?"

Dean laughed and held up the bag in his hand.

"Chunky Monkey."

"Ooh, excellent choice."

"I thought so. Can't go wrong with monkeys."

Jess snorted.

"What was that?" Dean asked, looking around the room.

"Uh… the washer makes strange noises sometimes."

"Oh. I could check that out for you sometime. Mine used to do the same thing."

"Oh good. That would be great. 'Cause you know, nobody wants a noisy washing machine…" Rory realized that she was babbling and trailed off.

"Right," Dean said, giving her a curious look. "Listen, I'm going to go put the Chunky Monkey in bowls and grab us some spoons, and you can find something good on TV. I mean, it's not that I don't love Billy Idol, but this song has a tendency to make my ears bleed in pain."

He walked over to the CD player and clicked it off.

Rory gave him a small smile. "Great, I'll get right on that TV thing."

Dean gave her one last questioning glance before shaking his head and heading off to the kitchen. As soon as he left the room Jess popped up from behind the couch.

"I'm out of here," he hissed, putting his coat on.

"No! You can't leave! He'll see you!" Rory pleaded, trying to shove Jess back down behind the couch.

"If you knew I was stuck in the room with you, the least you could have done was refrain from trying to suck his face off!"

"Hey, I didn't want him to suspect anything."

"Well if you kept it up my retching would have tipped him off."

"Your little snort almost gave you away as it was," Rory angrily retorted.

"It's not my fault. Your boyfriend is the genius who commented on the appeal of monkeys." 

Rory glared at Jess. He glared back. Suddenly Rory looked over to the kitchen.

"He's coming badck in. Just stay quiet for a couple more minutes and I'll get rid of him," she whispered in desperation.

Jess continued to glare, jaw clenched until he finally relented.

"Fine. But if I here the smacking of lips, I swear to God, I'm out of here whether Dean sees me or not."

"Fine," Rory said, nervously pushing him back down as Dean approached. She fumbled with the remote and flipped the TV on.

Dean entered with two bowls and looked at the TV.

"I didn't know you liked golf," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, um, I don't," Rory said, changing the channel. "I was still flipping through. There's nothing good on."

"Oh, well that's fine. Besides, I can think of better things to do than watch TV," he replied with a smile.

Rory's eyes widened as she thought of Jess' threat. 

"Wait! This looks good," she said, a little too loudly. 

"The Powerpuff Girls?" Dean asked, a little put off.

"What? You don't think that Bubbles is adorable?"

Dean smirked. "I would never say that. This is fine. An excellent show. My little sister loves it."

"She has good taste," Rory answered, smiling and settling back on the couch as Dean handed her a bowl. Rory immediately started to eat, shoving spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth without looking at Dean.

"Rory, is something wrong?"

Rory looked up from her bowl. "What? No, of course not. I'm just really hungry."

Dean chuckled. "I can see that. You have a little chocolate right here," he said, gesturing at her lower lip.

Rory tried to wipe it away with her finger, but failed.

"Here, let me get it," Dean said, leaning in close. He placed his lips on her and was about to lick the chocolate away when Rory pulled back as if stung.

"I think you should go," she said stiffly, looking at him seriously.

"What? Rory, what is going on here? What's wrong with you today?" 

"Nothing is wrong with me Dean, it's just that… this was supposed to be a night just for me and it's turning into a date and I just… I still have a lot of laundry to do."

Dean's eyes narrowed.

"Fine. It was stupid of me to think that it was okay to come see my girlfriend. What was I thinking?" he said angrily, slamming his bowl down on the table and getting up.

"Dean, I didn't mean it like that, it's just—"

"It's just nothing Rory. I didn't realize I was such an inconvenience." 

"This is crazy Dean! I just wanted one night alone!"

"It's gotten to the point where you'd rather spend time alone than with me Rory!" Dean shouted.

"That's not true!"

"That's how it feels, okay? And I just can't deal with it right now!"

"What are you saying?" Rory asked.

"Nothing, just… never mind. I'm just going to go home and cool off and we can talk tomorrow," Dean said quietly, getting up slowly.

"Dean, don't go."

"You want me gone, Rory," he answered. She knew he meant more than just leaving her house.

  
"No I don't," she pleaded.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said, grabbing his coat. He walked out the door, leaving Rory standing by the couch. 

The door slammed shut and Rory jumped. She sat down on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. Jess slowly rose from behind the couch and looked at her nervously.

"Are you okay?" he asked, moving around the couch towards her.

"No," she answered numbly.

"He was an asshole."

Rory didn't answer. She just continued to look miserable. Jess wanted to go find Dean and punch him. Just a second ago he and Rory were having such a good time and now she was practically in tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked anxiously, praying that she'd say no. He wasn't exactly great at that whole 'cry on my shoulder' thing.

"No."

Jess breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. Do you want me to go?"

Rory paused. 

"No."

"Really?" Jess asked, squinting at Rory.

"I'm fine. We're fine. He'll call tomorrow and we'll be fine."

Jess eyed her critically.

"Really," Rory reassured him. "I'm fine. Come on, let's continue the laundry sorting."

She forced herself to smile. She really just wanted to forget about Dean tonight. She was actually having fun with Jess. 'Maybe too much fun,' she thought, remember their position on the couch not too long ago.

"Okay," Jess said reassuringly. "Do you want me to get another basket for us to sort?"

"Yes, please," she said, trying to sound happy.

Jess reentered a moment later and on his way over he turned the CD player back on. Soon "Ice, Ice Baby" started to play. 

"Now *this* is a classic," Jess said, dropping the basket at the foot of the couch. "Yo VIP, Let's kick it!" he said quietly along with the song.

"Oh my God," Rory said slowly. "Tell me you're kidding."

Jess ignored her and continued to rap a little louder… and badly. 

"All right stop. Collaborate and listen. Ice is back with my brand new invention. Something grabs ahold of me tightly. Then I flow like a harpoon daily and nightly. Will it ever stop?"

"Yes, PLEASE make it stop!" Rory squealed, tackling Jess. They both landed with a thud next to the laundry basket.

"I can't believe you know the words to that song. And that you actually made this known to me," Rory said, laughing.

"Hey, I had to do something to get you laughing again," he answered.

Rory smiled sincerely at him. "Well thank you." She paused. "But I hope you don't think that because your embarrassment was a selfless gesture of kindness that I'm not going to exploit it."

"What are you saying," Jess asked, smirk lessening.

"I'm saying that maybe some other people need to be informed of your awesome rapping skills."

"You wouldn't!" Jess challenged, eyes wide.

"I think my mom deserves a little call. This just can't wait. Or maybe my Luke!" Rory giggled, jumping up and running towards the phone.

"I can't believe you!" Jess yelled, running after her.

Just as Rory picked the phone up and turned it on, Jess caught up to her. Rory tried to dodge past him, dialing as she did so, but he clamped his arms around her and picked her up. Rory shrieked and he dropped her onto the couch with a threatening glare. Rory dialed the last number and smiled evilly at him.

"Rory, I'm warning you," Jess said towering over her.

"Oh hello Luke!" Rory said cheerfully into the receiver. "Why am I calling? Well that's an interesting question."

"Stop talking right now Gilmore!" Jess said dangerously.

"Make me," Rory whispered, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Okay," he said simply. She looked at him questioningly.

"What is it Rory?" Luke asked impatiently.

"Well I just thought you should know—"

But she was cut off at that moment. Jess' covered her lips with his own and took the phone from her hand, tossing it aside. 

Rory was in a state of shock. She lay frozen beneath Jess as he moved his lips against hers. Suddenly her brain clicked back on and wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. 

"Hello? Rory? Is something wrong?" Luke asked, unheard by either teenager. The phone lay prone on the floor. Luke started to panic. What if some madman had broken into her house and kidnapped her? He yelled to Caesar to take care of things for a few minutes while he stepped out, and he walked out the door.

Jess and Rory had lost track of what was going on. Rory faintly heard "Ice, Ice Baby" change into "Leader of the Pack" and then "Walk Like an Egyptian," but to her it felt like time was standing still. She could only focus on the feeling of Jess' lips on hers. She parted her lips to give him more access and he immediately deepened the kiss, with what almost sounded like a growl. He pressed her into the couch and let his hands roam up and down her sides.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Jess sprung off of Rory and turned to face the owner of the voice.

"Luke?"

TBC… please review and give suggestions! I worship suggestions! *gets out her ceremonial alter* Seriously!


	3. Everybody Loves Charades

Firstly, I have to apologize for taking forever and a day to update this story. I am incredibly thankful to all of you who took the time to review it, and I owed you better than this- 2 months between chapters! Well I made this chapter extra long, so hopefully you'll forgive me. So thanks a bunch, and I'll try to update sooner next time :)

Recap (because it's been so durn long!):

Chapter 1 – Lorelai is out of town for the night with her mother, leaving Rory home alone. Rory plans to spend the night doing her laundry just the way she likes it, and turns down Dean's offer to spend time with her. However, Jess invites himself over and he and Rory end up having a grand old time doing laundry together. Then Dean calls. He's on his way over.

Chapter 2 – Rory tries to rush Jess out of the house before Dean gets there, but it's too late! Jess hides behind the living room couch, but threatens to leave if he here's any smooching. Unfortunately, Dean seems to want to make his little visit into a sort of date, and Rory, panicked that Jess will make his presence known, asks Dean to leave, making him very angry. After Dean is gone, Rory tells Jess to stay, and after cheering her up with his amazing rendition of "Ice Ice Baby," they end up kissing. A lot. Through a strange misunderstanding, Luke thinks Rory might be in trouble, and he rushes over to check on her… and walks right in on the Rory/Jess makeout session.

This chapter has less Rory/Jess interaction, sadly. But the next chapter will have much more. I hope you like this part anyway…

"Luke?"

But Jess barely had time to blink before Luke had rushed toward him and pulled him up by the shirt.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to her?!"

"Luke, hold on," Jess said anxiously.

"Everyone said you were trouble. Everyone! But I didn't listen. I thought, I don't know, somewhere deep down you were a good kid who was just going through a tough time."

"Luke, listen—"

"But then I find you at Lorelai's house," he searched for the right word, "… molesting her daughter!"

"Luke!" Jess yelled.

"Well that's it Jess, you're going home. You're going somewhere that isn't here."

"Jesus Luke! What do you think? I just threw myself on her?"

Luke's eyes narrowed and he eyed Jess critically. "Well you must've done something close to it, because Rory isn't the type to do something like this."

Jess let out a noise of disgust. 

"What do you mean she isn't the 'type?'"

"Rory isn't the type of girl who would cheat on her boyfriend," Luke started in a low voice, and then he almost growled, "unless some punk was messing with her head."

Jess was so angry he could hear his blood pounding in his ears. He was about to say something particularly scathing when Rory cut in.

"Luke!"

Luke let go of Jess and looked over at Rory, his eyes softened slightly.

"Luke, thank you for the concern, but Jess didn't do anything wrong." 

She looked down at her feet. She felt horrible. She *was* that type of girl. This was proof. She was an awful person, and Jess was getting blamed.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Luke continued to look confused. Jess looked helplessly at Rory, wanting nothing more than to go over and hold her, tell her that she shouldn't feel bad. Rory was wringing hands nervously, refusing to look up at anyone.

Finally, Luke cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well, I'm just going to leave now. Jess, I think you should come with me."

Jess was about to object when Luke gave him a stern look. He sighed and tried to suppress his frustration.

"Rory…"

Rory didn't say anything. Jess shook his head and followed Luke out the door. When she heard it close, Rory started to cry. 

After about 5 minutes of wallowing, Rory got up and picked up the phone where it was still lying on the floor. She dialed a number slowly and curled up on the couch again.

"Mom?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Rory? What's wrong?" Lorelai Gilmore asked.

"Are you busy right now? Is grandma there?"

Lorelai looked at her mother sitting on the barstool next to her.

"Yeah, we split from the spa and we're indulging in real food at a bar close by. Your grandmother was even hit on by some guy."

"I was not!" Emily Gilmore shouted into the phone, giving Lorelai a disapproving glare. 

"She's just being modest. She's such a minx!"

"Mom!" Rory shouted and the exact same time that Emily shouted, "Lorelai!"

"Woah there Jim and Tammy, I guess I'll tone it down for the kiddies."

"Lorelai, why is Rory calling you? Is something wrong?" Emily asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure, hold on, I'll ask."

"You're not sure! What do you mean you're not sure? Your daughter calls you, you ask what's wrong, and then before giving her a chance to answer, you start joking around about my dealings with strange men in bars, and then you compare me to some mascara-crazed televangelist!"

"I know mother, I'm positively fiendish. Now if you'll excuse me for a moment, I'm going to talk to my daughter," Lorelai answered calmly, turning away.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Emily said, looking irritated that her daughter was now ignoring her.

"Rory, honey, is something wrong?"

"Sort of," Rory said, biting her lip.

"What is it? Do you need me to come home?"

"No," Rory answered quickly. "No, I'm okay, it's just… you're going to get so mad at me."

Lorelai's eyebrows drew together and she frowned.

"Did you burn down the house?."

"No," Rory said.

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"And is anyone else hurt?"

"No."

"Then I promise I won't get mad at you."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Rory what is it?" Lorelai asked, concerned.

"I did a stupid thing."

"Ooookay, that could mean anything. Did you try to cook? Because then I might have real cause for concern."

"A stupid thing involving a boy."

Lorelai froze. She didn't respond.

"Mom?"

"What happened?"

"Mom, you sound mad. Remember the promise? Remember? I knew I should have gotten it in writing."

"Honey, that's not anger, it's blind terror. What happened? Did Dean convince you to do something that you weren't ready for?"

"WHAT?!" Emily Gilmore yelled, hearing the last part of Lorelai's question. "What did that hoodlum do to my granddaughter?"

Lorelai waved her hand signaling for Emily to stop. "Mother, please."

"Rory, what happened?"

"It was nothing like that."

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Now I don't have to take a corkscrew to his head."

"It involved Jess."

"Okay, I'm keeping the corkscrew idea and adjusting it slightly. What happened?"

"Remember your promise?"

"Yes, now tell me!"

Rory sighed. "Jess came over and he was helping me do laundry and… we kissed."

"Rory! Honey, what were you thinking? What about Dean?"

"I know, I feel horrible."

"Who kissed who?"

"He kissed me I guess, and then I sort of kissed him back and then I just sort of got lost in it."

"You sort of kissed him back? You don't sort of cheat on your boyfriend, Rory. You either do or you don't, and you did. Big time."

"Do you think I don't know that? I'm just confused and upset and I needed someone to talk to and… You promised not to get mad!"

"I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed. I mean, what do you want me to say Rory? That maybe Jess is the one for you? He's not!"

"How do you know that?"

"Rory, let's compare and contrast, shall we? Dean is the sweet, respectful, honest boy who loves you deeply. Jess is the sarcastic, disrespectful thief who makes your mother's homicidal tendencies act up."

"I'm hanging up now."

"Rory, wait."

"What?" Rory asked shortly.

"Just… I'm not saying that you have to stay with Dean. If things just aren't working out with you two, by all means, end it. But don't end it over Jess. Don't even consider him an option Rory."

"Goodbye mother."

And then Rory turned the phone off and curled up on the couch.

Lorelai sighed and put her cell phone back into her purse. She pressed her fingers into her forehead and closed her eyes.

"Well?" Emily Gilmore began impatiently.

"Gah!" Lorelai yelped, jumping up.

"Don't 'gah' me Lorelai, what happened to Rory? Is she alright?" Emily asked agitatedly.

"Oh yeah mom, she's fine. She's just her mother's daughter."

"Sweetie?"

"Huh?"

Rory sat up slowly and realized that she was lying on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her. She decided that she must have fallen asleep on the couch after the not-so-pleasant conversation with her mother. She squinted and looked up.

"Mom?"

"Hey babe. Dean's on the phone," Lorelai said holding the phone out to her.

"What time is it?" Rory asked, reaching slowly for the phone.

"It's a little after noon. We got back at about 10:30 and grandma dropped me off here at about 11, but I didn't want to wake you up."

"Oh," she said dumbly, resting the phone in her lap.

"Rory?"

"What?"

"Phone. Dean."

"Huh? Oh! Right, phone. Thanks."

Lorelai flashed a concerned smile and left the room. Rory took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Rory, hey."

"Hey."

There was an awkward pause.

"Listen Rory, I'm sorry about last night. I acted stupid."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes I did. I shouldn't have come over. I mean, you just wanted some time to yourself, it's not like you were having a party and didn't invite me. I feel really bad about the whole thing…"

Silence.

"Forgive me?" Dean said anxiously.

Silence.

"Rory?"

"I forgive you."

"Good. You wanna get together for lunch or something? I'm not working today."

"Oh well I just woke up, so…"

"Oh," Dean said with a hint of disappointment. "I guess we could—"

"But I can get ready quickly. I'll meet you at Al's for lunch at 1."

"Uh, you might want to rethink that."

"Why?"

"Al is doing his tribute to Germany this week."

"Ugh. Lots of sauerbraten?"

"And plenty of liver Goulash. Your favorite."

"Yes. I just can't get enough liver."

"Exactly. So I propose going somewhere else. Luke's?"

"No."

"What?"

"I don't want to go to Luke's."

Dean laughed. "Okay, and why would that be?"

"I always go to Luke's. Let's go somewhere else."

"Where?"

"We could order a pizza."

"Come on Rory, let's just go to Luke's. We can take a walk afterwards and I'll buy you an ice cream."

"Dean, I don't want to go to Luke's."

"Rory, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I just—"

"I mean, refusing an ice cream bribe? What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Rory took a deep breath. "Never mind. Luke's is fine."

"You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. I'll see you there at 1?"

"Perfect. It's a date."

"Great. A date."

Rory clicked the phone off and buried her head in the couch cushions.

"Rory? Is there something fascinating in between the cushions that I was not made aware of."

"Mmmph." Rory mumbled.

"Rory, come on. We need to talk," Lorelai said, taking a seat next to Rory on the couch.

Rory lifted her head slowly and turned to face her mother.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Rory, I'm sorry that I blew up at you last night."

"Good."

"But you have to understand how scary the thought of you and Jess is to me."

Rory sighed. "I know."

"I don't want you wasting your time with him."

"I know."

"We don't even know if he's had all of his shots yet."

"Mom!"

"Sorry! See, there I go again. I just… I really want you to think about the whole Jess thing. Evaluate it, analyze it, pick it apart, and really think about it before you do anything else."

"I'm meeting Dean at Luke's in an hour."

"Oh! That's not good."

"I know."

"Well, maybe if you were a bag over your head, Luke and Jess just won't recognize you. But then they'd think that Dean was cheating on you with some strange bag-headed chick and they might run him out of town, which would also be bad."

"Darn, and I was seriously considering the bag option."

"Well, I guess your best option is to ignore everyone, eat quickly, and drag Dean out of there before Jess has the opportunity to say or do anything snide."

"I guess."

Rory buried her head back in the couch cushions. Lorelai looked at her sympathetically and pulled her up.

"Come on sweetie, it'll be okay."

"In what universe?"

"Rory, you're just going to have to make it through today and then maybe you can talk to Jess and I can talk to Luke and we can just forget the whole thing."

"Assuming I want to just forget the whole thing."

  
Lorelai cringed.

"I saw that!"

"Saw what?" Lorelai said innocently.

"I saw the flinching."

"Well you know Jess isn't exactly my favorite person!"

"No, I didn't. I guess that's because you're so subtle about it."

Lorelai put her hands on Rory's shoulders and looked her square in the face.

"I don't like him, but I'm really going to try to be supportive here, okay? Just don't rule out Dean yet."

Rory sighed and gave her mom a slight smile.

"Okay."

"So we're good then?"

"We're good."

"Good."

"Okay," Rory began, heading down the hall to her bedroom. "I have to go get ready for my lovely lunch date, and—what's this huge bowl doing on the floor?" Rory looked down at the bowl and reached over to pick it up.

"Ah! Don't turn that bowl over!" Lorelai yelled, rushing over.

"What? Why?"

"There's an evil bug under that bowl," Lorelai said, completely serious.

"An evil bug?"

"Yes."

"Bugs can't be evil. They're just innocent creatures doing what nature tells them to do."

"Even that hornet that stung you on your tenth birthday?"

"Okay, bugs can't be evil with one notable exception."

"Correction, there are two notable exceptions; the birthday bee, and this sucker right here. This beetle attacked me after I got home and went to the kitchen to make some coffee."

"It attacked you?"

"Yes."

"How, pray tell, did the beetle attack you?"

"It… almost made me step on it with my bare feet!" Lorelai said, pointing at the bowl accusingly. 

"Okay, so assuming that you have in fact trapped the Hitler of beetles, why was such a large bowl necessary to trap it? Is it a giant mutated freak bug?"

Lorelai sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No, of course it's not a mutant. See, I originally had it trapped under a Dixie cup, but then I started to think, 'that bug is going to be under that little cup until my brave and wonderful daughter Rory wakes up and gets rid of it for me. And until that happens the poor thing is going to be freaking out and circling and trying to find an exit and wondering where it is and what's going to happen to it, and if it will ever see its family ever again and—"

"Wait, how did this bug go from Hitler to 'poor little bug?'" Rory said giving her mother a look of mock curiosity.

"Well I'm not heartless!" Lorelai answered indignantly. "So anyway, I quickly switched the dixie cup for a large soup bowl, but then I realized that it would be all dark and scary under there so I eventually decided on the clear plastic mixing bowl that we never mix anything in because baking and mixing and Gilmores don't… mix."

"I understand."

"Good."

"You're insane."

"Exactly," Lorelai said grinning. "Get rid of it, please?"

"Of course," Rory said, flipping the bowl over and scooping the beetle into it. She carried the bowl over to the front door and set the bowl on its side, allowing the bug to crawl out. "There you go little fuhrer," she said, waving goodbye. 

"There, are you happy?" she asked Lorelai, closing the door.

"My savior."

"Mmm-hmm. I'm going to go get ready."

"Okay. Good luck!"

"I'll need it," Rory said, heading off to her room to get dressed.

"Rory! Hey," Dean said. 

"Hey," Rory said nervously.

Dean grinned and walked over to her, giving her a peck on the cheek before leading her into the diner. They looked around for an empty table, and Rory motioned towards the Mafia table in the corner, thinking of the protection it might offer. This way at least no one could sneak up on her.

"So," Dean began once they sat down. "You must have been up for a while doing laundry. You slept in pretty late."

Rory laughed nervously. "Yeah, well you know how picky I am with my laundry."

"I do now."

Rory looked around and noticed Luke. He looked up at her and quickly averted his gaze. Then, feeling slightly foolish, he looked back up and walked over with his notepad out.

"What'll you have?" he asked, careful not to look directly at Rory.

"I guess I'll just have a burger with fries and a cherry coke," Dean said, oblivious to the tension.

"Yeah, me too," Rory said quickly.

"Great, so I'll just get right on that then, and I'll just… Yeah, um, I'll just be leaving now," Luke stuttered, walking away swiftly.

Dean let out a small laugh. "What's his deal?"

"I don't know," Rory answered a little too quickly.

"Okay…"

"Isn't it beautiful out today?"

"Um… yeah, I guess."

"Hardly a cloud in the sky," Rory said, not so smoothly changing the subject.

"Caesar, two burgers, two fries, two cherry cokes."

"Gotcha."

Luke walked out of the kitchen and ran right into his nephew.

"Whose order was that?"

"Jess!"

"Was that order for Lucy and Ricky over in the corner?"

"Jess, I think you should go up to your room and just stay there."

"Sure, whatever," Jess said coolly, turning around and started up the stairs. 

Luke watched him go, and then grabbed the pot and started to refill some mugs.

"… never quite this blue. It's quite striking, actually."

"Rory, maybe you should have slept in a little later." 

"Huh?" 

"Well, you've been going on for almost five minutes now about the weather."

"Well I think it's a particularly nice day."

"Me too, but couldn't we talk about something else for a minute?"

"Uh, sure. Sorry."

"No problem," Dean said, smiling. "Is that a new shirt?"

Rory looked down at her outfit. 

"Oh yeah, my mom got it for me when she was with my grandma yesterday."

"I like it."

"I'm glad," Rory said, returning Dean's smile.

"Order up!" Caesar called from the kitchen.

"I got this one," a voice called.

"Jess? Don't you have today off?"

"I just want to help out my dear uncle," Jess answered with a smirk.

"Whatever. Two burgers, two fries, two sodas. Corner table."

"Right."

"I mean, I'm a big fan of the puppy dog pajamas, but I guess you can't just wear those out of the house."

"Well, I could, but I have a feeling Taylor wouldn't approve."

"He might even accuse you of violating some obscure town law."

"They could lock me away for years," Rory said, feigning dread.

"I'd visit you every day."

"Well that's a comfort," Rory replied perfectly straight-faced.

"Your food."

Rory froze. 'What's the point of sitting at the Mafia table if you don't look out for possible dangers!' she berated herself.

She slowly turned towards Jess who was staring at her. He might have looked bored or annoyed to anyone else, but Rory thought she saw hurt written on his face.

"Great," Dean said, glaring at the guy who was staring at his girlfriend. "I think we can handle it from here Jess."

"Right," Jess answered, still staring at Rory. He set the plates and cups down on their table.

"But if you decide that you want something different, just holler."

"What?" Dean asked impatiently.

"You know, if you decide that maybe the burger and fries combo is getting to be boring and you want to spice it up a little, I can help. But then you might just decide that the burger is a safer option and stick with that. I don't know."

"And again I say 'What?'" Dean said in annoyance. Jess wouldn't look away from Rory.

"Maybe you're fickle orderers. I'm just trying to be of some help to you."

"We're fine, thanks," Rory said sternly, looking directly at him.

"Fine," Jess grunted, leaving abruptly.

Dean looked at Jess in detest as he walked away.

"I don't like that guy."

"I know you don't," Rory said simply, staring at Jess's back as he walked away.

"Dean, we need to talk."

"What about?"

"About us."

"Okay," Dean said, confused. 

"Sometimes I feel sort of… suffocated."

"Rory, is this about last night, because I already apologized. I understand that you need time alone."

"No, it's not just that. It just seems like you're constantly checking up on me, and it's just a little overwhelming sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for example, do you have to call ten times a day?"

Dean tried not to look hurt.

"I didn't know that bothered you so much."

"Well, it's just a little excessive."

"Uh, okay I'll limit the calling. So what else about me annoys you?"

"Dean, I didn't mean it like that," Rory said, quickly backpedaling.

"No really, I mean if there's something else… maybe you don't like the way I always smile when I see you."

"Dean."

"Is my smiling excessive? Because I can change."

"Dean, come on."

"It's just frustrating Rory. I try to be a good boyfriend. I like talking to you. I like seeing you. I like paying attention to you. I like you, okay? I'm sorry if I annoy you."

"You don't annoy me! Certain things you do occasionally annoy me, but you yourself are not an annoyance!"

"Sometimes that distinction doesn't seem so clear."

"Any changes yet?" a voice interrupted.

"Jess," Rory said in a warning tone, looking up at him.

"Whad'ya say Rory? Would you like to change your order?"

"No thank you," Rory ground out.

"Are you sure? I could have sworn that you expressed an appetite for something different a little while ago. Oh well. It figures that you'd settle for the usual."

Jess and Rory were glaring at each other. Sensing the tension, Dean tried to catch Rory's eye, but she was intent on beating Jess in the strange staring contest they had going. 

"Okay, what the heck is going on?" Dean shouted, standing up suddenly.

"Nothing!" Rory shouted back. "Jess, can I talk to you for a second?"

Before waiting for an answer, she grabbed Jess by the arm and dragged him outside.

"What is wrong with you?!" she yelled once they were out of sight.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jess answered calmly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I don't think *you* know what you're talking about. I don't think you understand what you really want."

Rory glared at Jess.

"Don't psychoanalyze me. I never claimed to know exactly what I want. I'm trying to figure that out, but you're not exactly making it easy."

"You don't have to figure anything out Rory. You know what you want, you just won't accept it."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?" Jess asked, moving towards her.

Rory stopped talking. Her felt her pulse quicken as Jess came closer. He reached out and gently grasped her hand.

"You know what you want, Rory."

He massaged her palm slowly with his thumb, focusing his gaze on her lips. 

"Jess, give me time to figure things out," Rory whispered. Jess could feel her breath on his neck. "I don't want to be that type of girl. The type Luke was talking about."

Jess pretended to be in deep thought before replying, "I have discovered a simple solution: dump him."

"Jess, stop it."

Jess sighed. 

"Fine. Let me just tell you something that might make your decision easier."

"What?" Rory asked, exasperated.

"Just this"

And then he kissed her. It was a furious, desperate kiss that ended as suddenly as it started. Jess pulled away and walked back toward the diner.

Rory stared after him in disbelief. She reached up and touched her lips gently as she watched him reenter the diner.

"Rory Gilmore!"

"Oh no," Rory said, frozen in horror.

"Rory darling, did I just see what I think I just saw?"

"Miss Patty, I—"

"Oh honey, there's no need to explain anything to me!" Miss Patty said, rushing over to Rory and slinging an arm around her shoulder.

"Miss Patty, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what you just saw," Rory practically begged.

"Your secret's safe with me honey," she replied, eyes twinkling. "I won't tell a soul."

She then giggled knowingly and rushed across the street where Rory saw her pull aside a random pedestrian. She then saw Miss Patty perform what looked like charades as she pointed enthusiastically at Rory.

"Wonderful," Rory said quietly, looking away and walking over to the diner. Dean was sitting at their table with his head in his hands waiting for her to come back.

TBC… Questions, comments, suggestions? And yes, I'll admit it, I have a soft spot for Dean. So sue me, I feel sorry for the guy sometimes. Anyway, if you've got any ideas, feel free to contribute.


	4. Jess vs The Pillsbury dough boy

Thanks for all the reviews :) Especially Alexis Leigh Mariano. I can't believe you were late to school because of me! Well, I appreciate your dedication, lol. And also a special thanks to angeleyez. I love your stories so it means a lot that you're reviewing mine!

Recap: Last chapter Luke caught Jess and Rory kissing. The next day Dean and Rory had lunch at Luke's and Jess decided to make his presence known. Rory pulled him outside to avoid making a scene, and Jess took the opportunity to steal another kiss. At the present, Jess has reentered the diner, and Rory is still standing outside, a bit stunned.

Rory reentered the diner nervously, flinching a little as the bell above the door jingled. She didn't want to see Dean right now. Not right after Jess just… well… never mind. She had to just put that out of her thoughts. Dean looked so pathetic sitting all alone at the corner table, head in his hands. She felt truly sorry for him. There he was, still desperately in love with her and she was…

Woah.

Was she about to think what she thought she was about to think?

'I'm falling out of love with him,' 

This silent affirmation of what she had known all along shocked her. She didn't love him anymore. It was wonderful in the beginning, but whatever it was that made her love him before… it just wasn't there. And all she could think about was Jess.

She scolded herself for falling into the typical teenage girl pattern. She wanted the bad boy. There was a perfectly wonderful boy who loved her sitting in front of her, and she wanted the kid that everyone in town had warned her about. What was wrong with her?

Then she saw him. He was leaving the kitchen and retreating back up to his bedroom with a soda. 

'He's probably going up there to read a book. A smart book,' she thought. She directed her attention back to Dean. 'I have to beg him to read. We have nothing to talk about anymore.' 

'Okay,' she assured herself, 'I'm not just one of those girls who wants a bad boy. My bad boy is intelligent and introspective and cares about me. Wait, *my* bad boy? He's not mine.'

Her inner monologue was cut short as Dean looked up and noticed her. He looked at her questioningly and she moved back to the table, taking a seat next to him.

"What was that?" he asked angrily.

"Jess was just, you know, being himself."

"I don't like that guy."

"I know."

"Why did you have to talk to him alone?" 

"Come on Dean, you know that if I didn't take him outside you two would have made a scene."

Dean sighed and sipped his soda distractedly. 

Just then two younger girls entered the diner. They whispered to each other and one of them noticed Rory. The girl squealed and began whispering more franticly to her friend. Then they both giggled and ran back outside.

"What the—"

'How can word travel that fast? Damn you Miss Patty,' Rory thought nervously. 

Then she stood up quickly and asked Dean if they could leave. Dean threw some money down on the table and Rory practically dragged him out of the diner. 

As they walked down the street Rory noticed many people staring and whispering. Dean seemed oblivious at first, but he quickly caught on.

"What are they whispering about?"

"Beats me. Maybe Kirk was caught dancing with the mannequin from the costume shop again."

"I doubt it. Well actually, I don't doubt it, but I doubt that that's why everyone is whispering. They're pointing at us. Wait a minute, is that Taylor crying over there?"

Rory looked to where Dean was gesturing and saw Taylor in front of the market talking to Kirk in near hysterics.

"I don't understand it! They made such a wonderful couple! Moral, respectable, adorable!" he sobbed loudly.

"Who is he talking about?" Dean asked, a little weirded out at the sight.

"Dean, lets just go home and we can talk about it. There's something I need to tell you, but not here in front of the whole town."

"What is it?"

"Come on, we're almost to my house."

They walked in silence until they reached the Gilmore driveway. 

"Now what's this big important thing you have to tell me?" Dean asked impatiently.

"Let's go inside and sit down."

"Rory, just tell me already!"

"I'd really rather go inside," Rory said, aware that Babette was standing about 20 yards away with binoculars.

"Well too bad Rory. You're making me nervous. Just say it."

Rory took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I did something horrible, and I'm very, very sorry. I will understand if you decide to hate me forever after this."

Dean's looked concerned and he took Rory's hand, pulling her closer. "I could never hate you."

"I have feelings for Jess and we've kissed."

Dean froze and dropped Rory's hand.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

Dean looked down and tried to regain his composure. He took several deep breaths and tried to stop the anger and hurt that was rising up in him.

"I'm really sorry Dean."

He couldn't look at her. He was reeling from the shock of it all. He thought they were in love. 

"I have to go," he said numbly. He could feel a knot beginning to form in his throat.

"Dean, I'm sorry!" Rory said, tears streaming down her face. She tried to grab onto his arm, but he pulled away, still refusing to look at her.

"It doesn't matter," he said angrily.

"Wait, we have to talk about this!" Rory called after him.

He stopped walking and finally looked up at her. His eyes were glossy and his face was slightly red. 

"No we don't. It doesn't matter anymore Rory. You don't love me, and I love you. It's pretty simple. God, I feel like such an idiot! I thought things were fine."

"I should have told you. I should have said something before anything happened with Jess—"

"DON'T!" Dean yelled suddenly. He took a deep breath. "Don't say his name right now."

"I'm sorry. I should have been clearer. I should have told you how I felt and ended this before you got hurt."

"It doesn't matter," Dean repeated. "I don't care anymore. I'm sorry for annoying you so much that you had to cheat on me. I'm sorry for making you suffer through months of a relationship you hated. I'm leaving now."

"Dean, I don't want it to end like this!"

"Too bad Rory," he said bitterly, walking away.

Rory closed her eyes and wiped the tears from her face, but fresh ones replaced them. She sobbed and retreated into her house.

The initially shock had faded and now Dean was just angry. Very angry. Yes, he and Rory had been having some problems, but they could have worked things out. They could have, but HE had to ruin everything. He had to show up with his sarcasm and holier-than-thou-'cause-hey-I-read-a-lot! attitude and steal Rory away from him. 

And then he saw him. There he was, smoking a cigarette by a garbage dumpster next to Luke's. And Dean just couldn't contain his anger anymore.

"Rory?" Lorelai called from upstairs. She thought she had heard someone enter the house. 

She ran downstairs to find her daughter sitting at the kitchen table, staring blankly into space. It was obvious from her red nose and wet cheeks that she had been crying.

"Rory, what's wrong?"

Rory slowly turned to face her mother.

"He broke up with me."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. What happened?" Lorelai said, taking a seat next to Rory.

"I just told him the truth. About how I was feeling about him, about our relationship… about Jess."

Lorelai's eyes widened for a second.

"He probably didn't take it too well I'm guessing?"

"Give the woman a prize," Rory muttered.

"Well did he scream, cry, storm off?"

"All three actually."

"Where was he going?"

"How should I know? Probably to carve 'Dean hates Rory' into all of the trees in Stars Hollow," Rory said with a sniffle.

"Are you sure he wasn't going to pay Jess a little visit?"

"Again, how should I— Oh no," Rory said, suddenly panicked.

"Come on, we'll try to find him before somebody gets hurt."

"JESS!" Dean yelled loudly.

Jess looked up from his cigarette and lazily puffed out some more smoke.

"What do you want?"

Dean was rapidly approaching. He didn't answer Jess as he closed in.

"What's your deal?" Jess said, confused and annoyed.

Dean reached Jess and without saying a word, he pulled back a fist and let it fly. There was a loud crack as Jess's snapped to the side.

Jess cried out and tried to move back but Dean came forward again, jaw clenched, seething. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jess yelled right before Dean shoved him hard against the dumpster.

"You just couldn't leave her alone, could you?"

And then things started to make sense. Rory must have told Dean about the kiss. Which meant he was in big trouble.

"No, I'm sorry, I think that was you," Jess retorted. "Weren't you the one called her ten times a day just to check in? She had to get away from you, you idiot."

Dean swung again, but Jess successfully dodged the punch and moved to the side.

"Don't act like you know how things were between us! You have no idea! We could have been happy if you hadn't messed with Rory's head!"

When Dean pulled back this time, Jess grabbed his arms and swung him around so that Dean's back was against the dumpster.

"Do you think Rory's just some brainless twit who I, in all my evil genius, was able to manipulate? Do you even know her? She wants me and she doesn't want you. Deal with it!"

Jess shoved Dean into the dumpster forcefully and turned to go.

"We would have been fine!" Dean screamed. "We would have worked everything out. You were just a distraction for her. Do you actually think that you meant anything to her Jess?"

Jess turned around again, clenching his fists.

"News flash Dean—You wouldn't have been fine! Rory was always trying to tell you what a jerk you were being, and you didn't hear her! Every time she started to tell you, you tried to make her feel bad by acting like a victim. How much longer do you think she would have stuck around for that? You're fucking delusional. You and Rory were over before I even got here."

"Shut up!" Dean hollered, running towards Jess again.

Soon there was nothing but a flurry of fists and occasional curses.

"Woah! Break it up! What the hell is going on here?!" 

The fighting didn't even pause.

Luke had left the diner to see what the commotion he heard was. He was shocked to see… well, he wasn't shocked to see Jess in a fight, but the fact that it was Dean he was fighting surprised him.

"Come on, break it up! Jess, get off him!" Luke shouted, trying to step between the two boys. 

But the fighting still continued.

"Stop it!!" 

It was a different voice. The fighting stopped as both boys froze and turned to face Rory, who was standing next to her mother looking completely distraught.

Luke to advantage of this pause to separate the two boys. He pulled Jess back towards the diner with him saying, "You and me and going to have a talk."

Dean stood in front of Rory. He had a bloody nose and a very swollen eye that would no doubt be a lovely shade of blue the next morning. He had made out only a little better than Jess, who in addition to a bloody nose and black eye, also split his lip and had a large bruise on his cheek from Dean's first punch.

"What were you doing?!" Rory yelled at Dean, shaking slightly.

"It's all his fault," Dean said quietly.

Rory sighed and put her hand on Dean's shoulder. Dean leaned into her touch. Lorelai sensed that her presence was not needed, and quietly went into the diner.

"Dean, it's not his fault. It's nobody's fault. We—we were just growing apart. It happens. I had let it go on for too long already. I wasn't being fair to you." She paused. "I don't love you anymore."

"Because of him!" Dean yelled angrily.

"No! Not because of Jess. Dean, we just weren't working anymore. It wasn't fun for me, and I can't imagine that it was too fun for you. It was just time to let go."

Dean looked down at his feet. "I don't want to let go."

"I know you don't. But you have to. And that means you can't go around fighting any guy I look at. You don't have the right."

"I love you Rory."

"I know."

Dean nodded and took deep breath. He wiped some of the blood from his nose with his sleeve and walked away.

Rory hugged her arms around herself and walked into the diner.

"Why not?" Lorelai asked, pouting.

"You can't even stop thinking about coffee now? My nephew is up there with several nasty looking injuries, and your mind is on coffee," Luke said with annoyance.

"Coffee is my comfort food. I always drink it when I'm upset."

"Or when you're happy or surprised or tired or bored or scared or—"

"Now you understand!" Lorelai said, grinning.

Luke sighed and poured Lorelai a cup of coffee. He looked up as Rory entered the diner.

"He's in his room," he said simply.

"Thanks," Rory replied, heading upstairs.

"More please."

"What?" Luke asked.

"Coffee."

"Already?"

"Please sir, I'd like some more!" Lorelai said, doing her best Oliver impression.

"You chugged your coffee?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"You are a biological wonder."

"Thank you!" Lorelai replied, holding up her cup.

Rory stood in front of Jess's door nervously, hesitating a little before knocking. 

"Luke, I'm FINE! I don't need any Band-Aids, and I already have the stupid icepack on my eye. Go away!"

"It's me," Rory said quietly.

"Oh. Come in."

Rory pushed the door open and gasped. Jess was lying on the couch with the icepack covering part of his face, but the parts she could see looked pretty bad.

"Oh God, Jess, are you okay?"

"Fantastic. I'm thinking of participating in a triathlon later today. Care to join me?"

"I'm serious. Did he break your nose or anything?"

Jess sighed and sat up slowly.

  
"It looks a hell of a lot worse than it really is. I'll be fine, I just might not look quite so dreamy for the next few days."

Rory gave him a small smile and took a seat next to him on the couch.

"Listen, Jess, I'm really sorry about Dean. I told him about us and he just sort of flipped. The thought that he might come after you never occurred to me."

"You told him about *us*?" Jess asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rory blushed. "I mean, I told him that we kissed and I told him how I felt about everything and—"

"You did it though, right? You broke up with him?" Jess asked hopefully.

"Well, he broke up with me, but yeah, we're through."

"Great!" he said quickly, smiling at her with his swollen lips.

"It's not 'great.' I don't feel great about it."

"Rory, it's great, because now I get to do this," Jess said, leaning in. 

He was about to brush his lips over hers, when she pulled back stiffly.

"No. It's not that easy. I can't just break up with the guy I've been dating for over a year, and then start a new relationship the very same night. I need to think about this. It's not great. I feel horrible for what I did to Dean."

Jess sighed. "Rory, you didn't do anything wrong. He was a prick."

"I cheated on him! That was wrong! I can't just be all, 'Yay, I broke the heart of a guy that I care about, let's kiss!' It doesn't work that way."

"Rory, just forget about him," Jess said, leaning in again.

"You don't understand! I can't do this right now!" She said, raising her voice and standing up. She walked quickly out of the room and down the stairs, quietly asking Lorelai if they could leave. 

When she got home she went upstairs and curled up in bed. She took out her headphones and turned on her CD player, trying to calm herself down. Unfortunately the first song to come on was "Ice, Ice Baby." She quickly turned the music off. Then, a moment later, she turned it back on. She closed her eyes and thought about the night before and how sweet Jess was.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Rory called from her bed.

Lorelai opened the door.

"You have a visitor," she said, allowing another person to enter.

"Lane!" Rory said as her friend walked in and sat at the foot of her bed.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine," Rory said, faking a smile. Lane looked unconvinced. "Okay, everything's sort of craptastic right now."

"I'm familiar with the feeling. I have another arranged date tonight."

"Ooh, who is it this time?"

"A future Korean ophthalmologist."

"Well, I can see pluses to that. I mean, say you get stabbed in the eye with a fork or something, you have an ophthalmologist right in your own home to heal you."

"Why am I getting stabbed in the eye with a fork?"

"Do you have any enemies in the food service sector?"

"Not that I know of."

"Hmm… then I guess I see no perks."

"Now we're on the same page," Lane concluded.

"So things are craptastic for both of us."

"I heard about Jess and Dean."

"The fight?"

"Yup."

"It was bad."

"So I heard. And you and Dean broke up?"

"Yes."

"So what are you feeling right now?" Lane asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I guess I feel guilty about the whole Dean thing, and I feel scared about the whole Jess thing."

"Can I offer you some advice? I mean, I've never gone on an *actual* date, but I like to think that my opinion counts for something."

"Delusions are fun, aren't they?"

Lane smirked, "Ooh, you're witty when you're distraught."

"It's a well-honed defense mechanism. Anyway, go ahead."

"Okay, first, leave things with Dean alone for a while. He'll come around. He's a great guy."

"I know," Rory said glumly.

"Now, Jess likes you, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you like him, yes?"

"Yes."

"So what's holding you back?"

"It's just… it seems really crazy right now. Everything sort of happened all at once."

Lane nodded. "I get that. But I don't want to see you push Jess away because you're scared. This could be a good thing, right? Isn't it what you wanted?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Well then, I think you should---Wait, what time is it?"

"Um… 5:00, why?"

"Ugh, I'm late. For my date."

"You're late for a very important date?"

"The Alice in Wonderland references are always enjoyable, but I really have to go," Lane said, standing up and straightening her shirt.

"Okay, see you. Thanks for the advice."

"Good luck," Lane said with a smile as she left the room. 

Jess couldn't rest. Luke had basically ordered him to stay in bed, but all he could think about was Rory. He finally had a chance with her, and he might lose her again. He couldn't let that happen. He made his decision and went downstairs.

"I'm going out," he called to Luke as he left.

"Woah, no you're not!"

"Sorry, gotta go."

"Where are you going?"

"There's something I've got to do."

"Lane had to go?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup, she had a future ophthalmologist to date."

"Ophthalmologist… that's ears?"

"Eyes, but close."

"Right…" She paused. "So what's up?"

"Not my self-confidence."

Lorelai smiled comfortingly.

"What's wrong?"

"He's just so different from Dean."

"I assume you mean Jess."

"Of course."

"Well, I don't know. You could have meant the Pillsbury Dough Boy, the description would fit him too."

"That's true. I'm sorry, you're not at all insane."

"Thank you," Lorelai said. She paused, and then, "You know Rory, they don't make them all like Dean."

"I know."

"That's what makes dating so exciting."

"I guess."

"I'm not saying you should go jump into his arms and start picking out china patterns, but don't dismiss him outright because you're afraid."

Rory smirked. "So now even you want us to get together?"

"Want is such a strong word."

"What would you prefer?"

"Well, I'd say that maybe I've accepted that you dating Jess wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. There could be worse things."

"You don't say," Rory said, feigning disbelief.

"Nuclear war, Bush getting reelected, a world without coffee."

"All three much worse than me and Jess."

"Yes."

"I think I'm going to go talk to him."

"Jess?"

"No, the Pillsbury Dough Boy."

"Okay, well, when you find him, be sure to tell him I love his oven-baked rolls."

"Will do," Rory said, walking out of her room and towards the door.

"Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"Just… don't rush things, okay?"

"I won't," Rory said, smiling.

"Good, because rushing can be bad."

"Gotcha," Rory said, walking out the front door.

She didn't get halfway down the driveway before she saw him. She walked up to him and looked into his eyes. He was looking at her apologetically. He wasn't sure what to say. 

It turned out he didn't have to say anything. The next second Rory was kissing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her entire body against his, trying to feel closer to him. Stunned at first, he quickly regained some sense of reality and started to kiss her back with equal fervor. He rested his hands on her waist at first, but soon began running them up and down her sides as he deepened the kiss.

Lorelai sighed. She watched her daughter as she kissed Jess. Then she walked away from the window and went into the kitchen to make some coffee.

"Well, at least she didn't rush," she said, shaking her head.

The End! (Yup, I decided to stop here folks. Thanks for those who encouraged me to continue. This just felt right though. I'll write something new for you J ) 


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